battmann

iTrader: (7)

i've been searching and reading on LS1tech for a while preparing for my first LQ4 build and would like some input on my plans.

the car is a 1984 Trans Am which i bought it as a roller for $500. i know these cars aren't collectors items, but i just like the design. another project car consumed my time and money for the past few years, but with that car sold i'm focusing on this TA again. i'm trying to accumulate parts to build the LQ4 while a friend of mine is doing the bodywork. the goal is to have a nice handling car with 600rwhp.
i have a build thread over on TGO:
http://www.thirdgen.org/forums/membe...-am-build.html







the engine is a 2000 LQ4 from a Chevy 2500. it was owned by a family member so i know the history, but it has 200K on it. i have the whole drivetrain - engine, tranny, ECU and wiring. here's what i'm thinking:



Engine
Block: get it cleaned and honed
Crank: stock
Rods and pistons: is it worth checking these or should i just get gen IV stuff? where's a good place to get these parts new? will be using ARP bolts.
Heads: ditched the iron 317s and got aluminum 317s. will use LS9 gaskets and ARP studs.
Pushrods: i'll measure once i start assembling the engine
Rockers: stock with trunion upgrade - probably from BTR
Lifters: Morel 5313 with new trays
Springs: PAC1218 - recommendation on retainers?
Oil pump: recommendation?
Timing chain: LS2 - anyone have a part number?
PCV: MM catch can or LS6 upgrade
Front accessories: from LS1 f-body
Oil pan: stock LS1 f-body
Cam: to be determined - will buy from a sponsor here
Intake: LS6 with stock LS1 TB, stock rails and 80lb Deka injectors
Coil packs: stock
Mounts: have UMI solid motor mounts. have Spohn engine mounts, but am reading they suck so will probably get the UMI ones

Electronics
let me preface this by saying i'm not very knowledgeable with electronics - i'm an old school SBC guy. i have the complete harness and ECU from the 2000 Chevy 2500, but also have a complete LS1 harness and 411 ECU (unsure of year). is there a reason to use one over the other? the truck one has the 4L80E connections. i'll be sending this stuff out to get modified. Or should i just sell this stuff and have Pocket build me a harness?
i plan to have New Era tune the car once it's together since they're 10 minutes away from me.

Turbo
Kit: Denmah kit from VS Racing - is it worth it to upgrade to a 76 or 80mm?
Headers: truck manifolds
Hot / Cold piping: i'll fab myself

Suspension & Brakes (i already have the suspension stuff below)
UMI tubular a-arms, adjustable panhard bar & lower control arms, wonderbar, caster / camber plates
Hotchkis subframe connectors
BMR Trak Pak torque arm setup
Koni yellow shocks & struts
Brakes: LS1 or C6 kit from bigbrakeupgrade.com

Misc.
Fuel: plastic LS1 f-body tank with dual in-tank walbros
Tranny: rebuilt 4L80E, new converter stall to be determined
Radiator: aluminum aftermarket - recommendations?
Rear end: hope to afford something like a Moser assembly
Driveshaft: i'll have one built - recommendations?

sorry for all the questions, but i figured i'd ask them all at once to see what the experts say. i gladly welcome any other tips / tricks /advise.

jay_rich

iTrader: (8)

Awesome another 3rd gen! To give ya an idea on placement here is where I mounted my GT45 with truck mani's, true divided 2.25" 14awg hotside with twin 38mm tial MV-s gates.

The crossover isnt hooked up on this pic. I need to get some updated pics!

Jay

battmann

iTrader: (7)

would like some opinions on the stock crank, rods and pistons. i want to get the ball rolling on this thing. is it worth having the machine shop check the stock stuff or should i put that money towards buying new gen IV stuff?

jay - thanks for sharing that pic. let me know when you post more so i can check them out. what mm turbine wheel did you get?

jay_rich

iTrader: (8)

When I built my old 370 turbo setup in my last Iroc I went with stock polished crank, Callies Rods and Wiesco -15cc pistons if I recall right. Fairly cheap setup that most people use. Gen3 stock internals are gonna be working a sweat around 600whp it seems. But then again its all in the tune.

For sure. I am waiting til the car is a bit more complete before I share it here. I have a thread going in the power adder section on thirdgen.org.

Its just the 69mm wheel since the plan was to be a budget build stock 5.3L. The whole budget thing has snowballed for sure. I plan on moving up to a t4 S475 next year if everything works out good with the car this season. The car was a completely stock 87 when I started so its been an expensive winter lol. Personally I couldnt justify spending the 600 or so for a china 76 or 80mm when you can get a proven Borg for not much more. With you building a 6.0L I would suggest going to a T6 based turbo to keep the back pressure to a minimum.

Jay

SSZ

I miss my Iroc alot. I still would like to get another third gen.
Will be watching this build. Good luck Battman.
Jay that placement looks good. Looking forward to seeing your build thread. I really wanna see your hotside pics. Pm me some pics if you dont mind.

HISS

iTrader: (52)

Stock crank should be fine. If it's a super early 6.0 the crank flange is different that the later ones. You indicated its iron headed so I assume this is the case. If your planning to run a th350 or th400 this is not a bad thing, as this crank was designed to be used with the earlier style trans. I'd get forged Pistons and rods with arp bolts if you plan on making some power, or spinning it up a little.

denmah

iTrader: (2)

what kind of power goal do you have pretty much dictates every part in the build
so, whats the power goal

the rest falls in place easy once you know what kinda power you want

battmann

iTrader: (7)

I'm targeting 550-600HP at the rear wheels. I don't want to get too crazy yet but I know down the road you always want more.

battmann

iTrader: (7)

so i officially started my engine build this week. i finished disassembling the LQ4 and everything inside looked great. cylinders weren't scratched up and all the bearings looked perfect. some of the main bearings still had a sheen on them and this engine had 200K miles. i took the block, crank and heads to a local machine shop. they quoted me $300 to clean the parts, check them for cracks and measure everything. if everything checks out then i'll probably bore the block 30 over, get a valve job done on the heads and start reassembling the engine

i'm still researching the parts i want, but hope to finalize that soon. it looks like i'll be putting all new stuff in the engine and only keeping the stock crank. it's a little more expensive, but i only want to put this thing together once. i'm not sure if i'll have the machine shop assemble the shortblock or if i'll do it. i know i can do this myself, but i'm betting they will get it done faster than i will.

also, here's a couple quick progress pics of the bodywork. you can see more in my build thread on TGO.





added an electric fuel door release:

denmah

iTrader: (2)

the standard super cheap gt45 200-300 dollar turbo will work great
and light nearly instantly on a 6L

80lb injectors i use 99% of the time will do 100-1000whp on gasoline and the yare the most economical price wise for that hp area, and they are flawless, ive used them 100s of times never had an issue

COSPEED2

iTrader: (7)

80lb injectors are way overkill for that power range.

tblentrprz

SP2, OK so what do you recommend for price and reliability?

COSPEED2

iTrader: (7)

If you have a rrfpr on the system (boost ref) why not use it? You can then use a smaller injector like a 52# ls9 injector or a 60lb.
otherwise with a reg system you can use a fast or equivalent 65# injector.
there are many many injector calculators out there. that is a flat rate though and do not/cannot account for a rising rate system and should be used as a guideline. At 10lbs of boost your fpr would then be (hypothetically) 68-70# which will make your injector flow alot different and higher of course.
DISCLAIMER: DO NOT USE CHEAP EBAY/off brand INJECTORS FOR WHAT I JUST SAID. It should only be done with quality injectors preferrably new and flowmatched with a good pattern. Quite a few companies we deal with, have used/tuned, or are sponsors on here are pretty LS specific with their injectors. Places like FIC always produce quality. We like them alot.

Spending a grand or more on injectors because some other big name runs them is foolish honestly. Esp when you dont have to break the bank to buy quality and go fast with them.

cullen

iTrader: (3)

A grand on injectors? You can get some siemens 80lb injectors for $380 shipped.

With 80lber's, there is room to grow, maybe you'll want to run some e85 someday.

COSPEED2

iTrader: (7)

Yes there are plenty of people spending close to or over that for injectors. I did not mean they are all that price.
With a boost reference fpr there is room to grow with 65lbers also. Why start hacking away at the fueling tables when you dont have to?

HP52TA

iTrader: (6)

The stock components will be fine to that Horsepower IF you don't go beyond it, which you are already questioning yourself. At a minimum I would suggest forged rods and Pistons while you have it apart. HISS already provided information on the crank.

If you go with forged rods and Pistons, your only one more component away from a 408... Forged 408 should meet all future power upgrades you dream up for the street.

battmann

iTrader: (7)

been awhile since i posted an update. haven't really done much on the car lately. i did purchase all my engine parts from Colorado Speed mid-April. i've received everything except the ARP head studs, rods and pistons. as soon as those parts come in, i'll be able to have the machine shop do all their work and assemble the short block for me.
also been selling extra stuff i have laying around so i can buy more parts. not sure what i should focus on getting next: fuel system, computer / wiring, rebuild the 4L80E or get the turbo kit.

1bdbrd

iTrader: (12)

I know its not needed for the power levels you want to be at but maybe research going with a Holley ecu setup instead of a stock one. By the time you pay (or modify yourself) for a conversion harness, hp tuners (or a dyno tune), a boost controller and all the little odds and ends things you need; you might come very close to spending the same as a holley or comparable aftermarket setup. Plus a lot of people on here say the holley is way easier to tune and manage than a stock setup is.

Like I said, this is strictly because of a cost factor and not because you need it for the power level but is worth at least doing some comparing and research on.

battmann

iTrader: (7)

thanks for the insight 1bdbrd. i'll definitely weigh all my options for the electronics when i get to that point.

i finally received the rest of my engine parts last Thursday. Friday i took off of work and got all of the engine parts to the machine shop. i should have took pictures, but i'm never very good at remembering. engine should take about two weeks to machine and assemble. pretty much everything but the crank and valves will be new. i got all of the following:

• LS2 head gaskets
• LS2 timing chain & sprocket set
• Morel lifters
• 7.4" pushrods
• Melling oil pump
• Forged Scat H-beam rods
• Weisco 4.030 forged pistons, -11 volume
• stock rockers with Comp Cams trunion upgrade
• .650" dual valve springs with titanium retainers
• ARP head studs
• ARP crank bolt
• ARP main cap studs
• custom cam

i also scored an AMAZING deal today. i found a bolt-in Ford 9" rear end for third-gen f-bodies locally on craigslist. rear is a professionally made product with Moser 31 spline axles and stock bolt pattern, new auburn posi unit, 4:11 gears and was all rebuilt with new parts this past fall. guy was asking $1250. these rears go for anywhere between $2500 and $3300. guy said he wanted to put his car back to stock and this rear was way overkill for the factory tuned port engine so he figured he'd sell it to help fund the restoration. he said he needed to get a stock rear end so i offered to give him mine plus cash and he agreed. ended up getting this differential for $1000 cash and my stock rear. i'll probably change the brakes over to LS1 or Corvette discs and install lower gears in it, but i'm pretty excited i found this locally.

battmann

iTrader: (7)

made some more progress recently. i had a local shop (Northeast Machine in Tonawanda, NY) do the machine work and assemble the short block for me. that got done a couple weeks ago. here's the finished product.





last week i started assembling the rest of the engine at my friend's shop. he's an hour away from me so it's hard to get there. i got the block prepped & painted and then put the heads on. i'm using all ARP hardware to make sure this thing stays together. i tried putting the oil pan on, but it looks like the windage tray i got with some other parts is from a 5.3 engine and won't allow the f-body oil pickup tube to bolt on. just my luck.





also made a little progress on the body. this Trans Am didn't come factory with the full ground effects so we had to weld on the correct rocker brackets to hold them on. luckily i saved these brackets from a car i parted out years ago.